Valve construction controlling the operation of grease dispensers



March 5,1929. G. EMMERT 1,704,596

VALVE couswnucmon CONTROLLING THE OPERATION or GREASE DISPENSERS Filed Nov. 29, 1927 wig "V INVENTOR Gzggafi Emzer Patented Mar. 5, 1929.

UNITED STATES GEORGE EMMERT, OF CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS.

VALVE CONSTRUCTION CONTROLLING THE OPERATION OF GREASE DISPENSERS.

Application filed November 29, 1927. Serial No. 236,511.

This invention relates to a valve construction for automatically controlling the compressed air which operates a grease dispenser.

An object of the invention is the provision of a grease dispenser having a piston adapted to be operated by compressed air and in which an exhaust valve and an inlet valve for the compressed air is controlled automatical- 1y by the operation of the piston.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an automatic compressed air control for grease dispensers and in which a 001m pressed air chamber is adapted to be placed in open communication with the atmosphere and in open communication with a working cylinder, and operating means for inlet and exhaust valves being located in the chamber and controlled automatically by the movement of the piston.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a grease dispenser adapted to be actuated by compressed air acting on a piston in the cylinder. the exhaust of the air from the cylinder at the end of the working stroke and the admission of air to the cylinder at the beginning of the working stroke being controlled by a plurality of valves controlled by actuating means in the air line, the actuating means being operated by the piston and caused to be snapped into an operative position when an element of the actuating means passes a dead center.

This invention will be best understood from a consideration of the following detailed description in connection with the accompanying drawings; nevertheless it is to be understood that the invention is not confined to the disclosure being susceptible of such changes and modifications as shall define no material departure from the salient features-of the invention as expressed in the .appended claims.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a view in perspective of an actuating means for a grease dispenser,

Figure 2 is a view in perspective of a block having an air chamber controlling the admission and the exhaust of air through the actu atmg means,

Figure 3 is a view in perspective of an element of the actuating means for the grease dispenser and which controls the admission and exhaust of the air to the cylinder.

Figure 4 is a horizontal section through the operating mechanism,

taken along Figure 6 is a similar section showing'the exhaust passage open and the inlet passage closed for the compressed air,

Figure 7 is a vertical section the line 77 of Fig. 5,

Figure 8 is a fragmentary vertical section of apart of the controlling mechanism of the device.

Referring more particularly to the drawings 1O designates a base member which is adapted to be placed on top of the container filled with grease and which grease is adapted to be forced from the container by means of a plunger 11 moving in a barrel 12, which is projected into the grease in the container. The plunger 11 is connected by means of a rod 13 extending upwardly into a cylinder 14 and connected at its upper end to a piston 15.. The cylinder is cut away, as shown at 16, to expose certain elements of the operating mechanism in order to make them more accessible to a mechanic when it is desired to ad just or repair any of the parts. The lower end of the fragmentary portion of the cylinder is secured to the cap or base member 10.

A disc 17 is secured to the rod 13 and is taken along engaged at one end by a coil spring 18 embracing the rod-the other end of the coil seated upon the basemembcr .10 and is adapted to force the rod 13 and likewise the piston 15 and plunger 11 upwardly to the initial positions of the working strokes thereof.

A block 20 is secured to the member 16 in any approved manner or said block may be cast integrally with the member 16 and the cylinder 14. An annular chamber is provided at 21 on the outer face of the block and a tube is formed in the block and extends through said block and opens into the chamber 21 in which is mounted a shaft 23. The metal rim 24.- which forms the chamber 21 is provided with a discharge passage 25 connecting the chamber 21 with the atmosphere. The rim is provided with a hollow boss 26 which is internally threaded and into which is screwed a plug 27 connecting a compressed air inlet pipe 28 to the block and forming a guide for a valve stem 29. A flange 30 projects from one edge of the block 20 and provides means for securing a flange 31 of the member 16 to said block.

A hollow rim 24 is threaded at 32 to receive a threaded plug 33 enclosing the outer end of a plug 41 threaded into a recess in the block 20. This plug is connected by a union 42 to a pipe 43 which has its end connected by means of an L 44 with the top of the cylinder 14 for placing said cylinder in open communication with the chamber 21.

The rockable plate 38 is provided with a cam member 45 adapted to be in engagement with the valve stem 29 for permitting a spring 46-to lower the stem and movea valve 47 on its seat at the outer end of the plug 27. A rib 48 is formed on the outer face of the member 38 and is provided with a pocket 49 for receiving a spring 50 in engagement with a ball valve 51 which tends to force the ball outwa rdLy from said pocket so that it will always ride on the inner face of the rim 24 and adapted to engage at times the inner end of the passage 25 for closing said passage to the atmosphere. The member 38 is rigidly secured to the shaft 23 so that when said shaft is rocked the plate will likewise be rocked.

The member 52 secured in any approved manner, as by means of a set screw 53, to the end of the shaft 23 where said shaft projects beyond the block 20 and is provided with a plurality of transverse grooves 54 formed in the periphery which are adapted to be engaged at diametrically opposite points by balls 55 and 56. Ball 55 is pressed into engagement with the respective groove by means of a spring 57 received within a barrel .58 closed at its outer end by a plug 59. This barrel is screwed into a hollow internally threaded lug 6O projecting from one face of the block 20. A second barrel 61 receives a spring 62 and forces the ball 56into a groove in the member 52. The spring has one end in engagement with the ball and its other end in engagement with a plug 63 screwed into the outer free end of the barrel and said barrel is threaded into alug 64 projecting from theblock 20 and in alinement with the lug 60.

The outer end of the shaft 23 projects beyond the member 52 and to which is secured an arm adapted to be moved between a pair of fingers 71 and 72 and to engage the same, said fingers being secured in spaced relation on the rod 13 and adapted to oscillate the arm 70 when the rod is reciprocated.

The operation of my invention is as follows:

The pipe 28 is in communication with the source of compressed air which is admitted to the chamber 21 when the valve 47 is raised from its seat on the plug 27. Compressed air flows through the passage 40 from the chamber 21, through the pipe 43 and into the upper end of the cylinder 14 thereby acting on the piston 15. As the piston is moved downwardly the plunger 11 is forced "downwardly in its respective cylinder 12 for forcing the grease from the container. As the rod 13 is moved downwardly to the limit of its stroke the lug 71 engages the arm 70 rocking the same downwardly and as said arm passes dead center it is in a horizontal plane passing throughthe axis of the shaft 23. the arm will be suddenly snapped downwardly by action of the springs 62 and 67 acting on the balls 56 and 55, respectively, and this sudden action occurs as the balls pass over the ribs or partitions between the grooves 54 so that the balls snap into the next adjacent groove upon rotation of the member 52. At this time the member 38 is rocked to the position shown in Fig. 6 whereby the cam member 45 has been moved to a position to permit the stem 29 to move inwardly and close the valve 47 under the tension of the spring 46 and the compressed air in the pipe 28. It will also be noted that the rib 48 has'been moved outwardly out of alinement with the passage 25 thereby moving the ball valve 51 away from the inner end of said passage, thus opening the chamber 21 to the atmosphere and permitting the air from the cylinder 14 to escape to the atmosphere.

When pressure piston 15 the spring 18 acting on the disc.

17 will force the rod 13 upwardly and likehas been relieved on they I wise the plunger 11 and the piston 15 thereby 38 is given a quick return movement to the position shown in Fig. 5 so that the ballvalve 51 will immediately close the passage 25 and the cam member 45 will open the valve 47 to the compressed air in the pipe 28. The compressed air then fills the chamber 21 and also the upper end of the cylinder 14 thus forcing the piston 15 downwardly and likewise the plunger 11, for again forcing grease from the container to which the device is attached.

Each time that the arm 70 is snapped back or forth for cutting off the compressed air or for placing the compressed air in communi-- cation with'the cylinder 14 the operator of the device is warned of the number of strokeswhich the plunger 11 makes so that he is able to determine without watching. the device how much grease is supplied to the part of the vehicle which is being lubricated. The fingers 71 and 72 are securedto the rod 13 by means of the screws 81 so that the fingers may be spaced farther or closer apart in order to vary the length of throw of the rod 13 and likewise the plunger 11, for thus varying the quantity of grease discharged from the container at each working stroke.

A shaft'23 hasa loose connection'with a shaft 23 and the shaft 23 has a reduced portion 90 to receive within a slot 91 at the ends of the shaft 23. The slot 91 is of sufiicient width to permit a predetermined amount of play, thereby permitting the shaft23 to r0- tate through a definite angle before the shaft 23 is rotated This construction allows the air valve to remain open and the exhaust closed until after the balls 55 and 56 pass over the ribs 80 when the plate 38 will suddenly snap into position, as shown in Fig. 6.

I claim 1. A valve construction for a grease dispenser including a cylinder and a piston 'in the cylinder, comprising a block provided with an air chamber in open communication with the cylinder, a rockable plate in the Pal I chamber, a conduit connected with the chamber for supplying compressed air, a valve for controlling the flow ofair from the conduit to the chamber, means on the rockable plate for moving the valve to open position,

said block having an exhaust passage connecting the chamber with the atmosphere, a valve carried by the rockable plate for closing and opening the passage to the atmosphere, and means for rocking the plate.

2. A valve construction for a grease dispenser including a cylinder and a piston in the cylinder, comprising a block provided with an air chamber in open communication with the cylinder, a rockable plate in the chamber, a conduit connected with the chamber for supplying compressed air, a valve for controlling the flow of air from the conduit to the chamber, a cam on the rockable plate for moving the valve to open position, said block having an exhaust passage connecting the chamber with the atmosphere, a valve carried by the rockable plate for closing and opening the passage to the atmosphere, and

means for rocking the plate.

3., A valve construction for a grease dispenser including a cylinder and a piston in the cylinder, comprising a block provided with an air chamber in open communication with the cylinder, a rockable plate in the chamber, a conduit connected with the chamber for supplying compressed air, a valve for I controlling the flow of air from the conduit to the chamber, means on the rockable plate for moving the valve to open position,said block having an exhaust passage connecting the I a chamber with the atmosphere, a ball valve engage theinner end of the exhaust passage carried by the rockable plate and adapted to for normally closing the same, a spring for maintaimng the valve 1n engagement with with the cylinder, a rockable 'platein the chamber,a conduit connected with the chamber for supplying compressed air, a valve for controlling the flow of air from the conduit to the chamber, means on the rockable plate for moving the valve to open position, said block having an exhaust passage connecting the chamber with the atmosphere, a ball valve carriedby the rockable plate and adapted to engage the inner end of the exhaust passage for normally closin the same, a spring for maintaining the va ve in engagement with the'passage, said plate when rocked being adapted to move the ball valve out of alinement with the passage, means for rocking the plate, a rim on the block and forming with said block the air chamber, said ball valve adapted to ride on the inner wall of the rim.

5. A valve construction for a grease dispenser including a cylinder and a piston .in

the cylinder, comprising a block having a projecting rim, a plug threaded into the rim to provide an air chamber in said rim, said chamber being in open communication withthe cylinder, a rockable plate in the chamber, a conduit connected to the chamber for supplying compressed air, a valve for controla ling the flow of air from the conduit to the chamber, means on the rockable plate for moving the valve to open position, said rim having an exhaust passage connecting the chamber with the'atmosphere, a rib carried by the rockable plate and having a pocket, a ball in the pocket, 2. spring tending to force the ball from the pocket in engagement with the rim, said valve being adapted to maintain the exhaust passages normally closed, and

means for rocking the-plate.

6. A valve construction for a grease dispenser including a cylinder and a piston in the cylinder, comprising a block having a projecting rim, a plug threaded into the rim to provide an air chamber in said rim, said chamber being in open communication with the cylinder, a rockable plate in the chamber, aconduit connectedto the chamber for supplying compressed air, a valve for controlling the flow of air from the conduit to the chamber, means on the rockable plate for moving the valve to open pos1t1on,-sa1d rim having an exhaust passage connecting the chamber with the atmosphere, arib carried by the rockable plate and having a'pocket, a

ball in the pocket, a spring ten'dingto force the ball from thepocket in engagement with the rim, said valve being adapted to maintain the exhaust passages normally closed, means for rocking the plate, said rib having a pocket, a ball seated in the pocket, and engaged by the plug for maintaining the plate in contact with one face of the block.

7. A valve construction for a grease dispenser including a cylinder and a piston in the cylinder, comprising a block having an air chamber, said chamber being in open communication with the cylinder, a rockable plate in the chamber, a conduit connected to the chamber't'or supplying compressed alr, a valve for controlling the flow of air from the conduit to the chamber, means on the rock-able plate for moving the valve to open position, said block having an exhaust. passage connecting the chamber with the atmosphere, a rib carried by the rockable plate and having a. pocket, a ball in the pocket, :1 spring tending to force the ball from the pocket in engagement with the inner wall of the air chamber, said valve being adapted to maintain the exhaust passages normally closed, and means adapted to be actuated by the pisten for causino' alternate rocking of the plate.

Signed at dorpus Christi, in the county of Nueces and State of Texas, this 23rd day of November, A. D. 1927.

GEORGE EMMERT. 

